Pulsatilla 2013

[greenspan]

I know that Pulsatilla has a "speciality", that the first and last flowers of the plant or population often tend not to give viable seeds.

the reason might be the proterogynous flowers. i guess that this flower behaviour of the genus Pulsatilla could also be a reason for a bad seed set if you only have a few specimens of a species whatever the weather conditions are. the more specimens the better seed set because enough flowers occur with different ripening status of stigmas + pollen. so cold weather periods with lack of insects, late maturing pollen and finished conception of the stigmas (sorry, didn't find a translation) might be the reason for a bad seed year.

susann, i didn't cut a leaf of my P. rubra, but on this photo you can see details of leaf + stalk...the lower leaf surface + the stalks are hairy, the upper surface of the leaves are glabrous. if your glasses are too bad...use the image zoom possibility of the firefox browser (rightclick + scrolling the mouse wheel )

[Susann]

@ greenspan: I am sorry, I am not very well at the moment, I will answer your post as soon as possibly. Meantime; thank you so very much telling me about the rightclick. I did of course not know about it. I fell so stupid!

[Susann]

the reason might be the proterogynous flowers.

Yes, you are right I think, as they are proterogynous it means that the first flowers has some problems getting pollinated, also because they are not very happy self pollinating ( But very happy crossing with other species). But the problem is also, I think, that if spring is late as this year, the Pulsatillas start to flower later than usual, as they decide to flower due to temperature. And, when they are later in the season the cycle of flowering is much faster and perhaps the insects has not had time to wake up/ or be born? The latest flowers have to compete with the emerging of the basal leaves, and I think that is why they often decide not to be viable. It might be as a competition of energy waste and the leaves being more important for the individual survivence?  I am not a botanist, these are just my guessings.

But I have to admit I was lying before, when I -twice- wrote that the P vulgaris in the vegetable plot had germinated as usual. That was not true. I had a closer look the other day. Lots and lots of beautiful seed heads but very few are actually containing viable seeds. It really must to have something to do with the faster cycle and lack of insects this year? I have more than one, often many of each species, but as they also hybridize with their cousins, that should not really be the problem? And especially not in the crowded P vulgaris "locality"?

on this photo you can see details of leaf + stalk...the lower leaf surface + the stalks are hairy, the upper surface of the leaves are glabrous. if your glasses are too bad...use the image zoom possibility of the firefox browser (rightclick + scrolling the mouse wheel )

Of course, I am not an expert because I have seen one locality of P rubra but I have really tried to compare your leaves, structure and hairyness color; and I think they look quite similar but not identical. Your plant is in a later part of emerge that were the flowers in Picos. Both your leaves, leaves of plant in my garden and pictures from Picos and the only leave I collected -as it is a national park- look quite similar.
(Now someone I know very well will laugh at me being so Swedish obeying the rules. But that was very lucky as we "got caught" by the Guardia Civil). However, your flowers are more red that what we saw. But that is also what the litterature tells, that the sometimes called ssp hispanica is more towards very dark lilac than the French form.

[astragalus]

Just back from the Dolomites where it is very early in the season (it snowed twice while we were there).  Pulsatilla vernalis was in bloom everywhere the snow was melting.  Joe kept saying, "I think that's enough pictures", but having hiked with Cliff Booker. I know you can never take too many pictures.  To see the pulsatillas everywhere was spectacular.  (I didn't take enough pictures).

1, Pulsatilla vernalis
2. Pulsatille vernalis en masse

[ranunculus]

Superb, Anne ... and in locations as beautiful as this it is impossible to take too many pictures. 

[astragalus]

Cliff, I said that to Joe but he really wanted to move on.  Incidentally, there was also Ranunculus pyrenaeus (sp?) in the same area and Pulsatilla alpina  apiifolia, the latter barely starting.  We saw Pulsatilla vernalis like this on two occasions, just amazing.  Incidentally, the grass you see in the photo is incredibly slippery and it's a steep slope.

[ranunculus]

Cliff, I said that to Joe but he really wanted to move on.  Incidentally, there was also Ranunculus pyrenaeus (sp?) in the same area and Pulsatilla alpina  apiifolia, the latter barely starting.  We saw Pulsatilla vernalis like this on two occasions, just amazing.  Incidentally, the grass you see in the photo is incredibly slippery and it's a steep slope.

Possibly R. kuepferi, Anne ... we have seen it quite often in this type of habitat.

[astragalus]

How do they differ, Cliff?  I'll put on a picture later for further i.d.

[ranunculus]

How do they differ, Cliff?  I'll put on a picture later for further i.d.

Hi Anne - there is a magnificent image of R. kuepferi (so typical) on:-

http://alpinestock.com/flora_fauna_g53-küpfers_hahnenfuss_ranunculus_kuepferi__p3297.html

Amended : It seems that this image has been removed from this site even though a search on Google brings it up.  Apologies.
I will search through my own files for a typical image.

[Maggi Young]

That link did  work for me, Cliff. ( it came up as
 http://alpinestock.com/details.php?gid=53&pid=3297 )

 Peter Maguire has a photo  of it here in the Forum :
http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=3870.msg102484#msg102484

[ranunculus]

Many thanks, Maggi ... you have saved me a prolonged search.  Lovely photo from Peter as usual.

[Diane Clement]

What a coincidence, pic taken a week ago in Switzerland (just returned from hols and more pix soon  )
Ranunculus kuepferi

[Maggi Young]

Welcome "home" Anne and Diane 

[astragalus]

Here are two pictures of what I've been calling Ranunculus pyrenaeus.  Is there a height difference between the two species?  What is the definitive difference?

[Diane Clement]

Here are two pictures of what I've been calling Ranunculus pyrenaeus.  Is there a height difference between the two species?  What is the definitive difference?

The difference is geographical.  R pyrenaeus is only in the Pyrenees.  R kuepferi occurs across the Alps.  It used to be named  R pyrenaeus ssp platagineus and is therefore closely related to R pyrenaeus

Ranunculus kuepferi